The rapid development of information technology and systems has brought significant change to competitive markets as a whole and has also increased consumer demand for convenience. However, in some instances, ineffective or inappropriate use of information technology and systems has resulted in unnecessary inefficiency and inconvenience in the distribution and delivery of goods and services.
FIG. 1-A and FIG. 1-B are distribution chain diagrams of traditional market & delivery systems for consumer goods, which have been developed over time and which have existed, in general, without significant improvement in efficiency. Suppliers typically distribute goods to local or regional wholesalers, and the wholesalers, in turn, sell the goods to local or regional retailers for a 15-25% price mark-up. Retailers then commonly apply an additional 30-40% mark-up prior to selling these goods to the customers who buy from their stores. The most notable drawback to such systems is the significant mark-up of price for the end consumer. While the supplier's price is often fair for customers, the net purchase price for the customer includes a profit margin for both the wholesaler and the retailer.
Since price differentiation is generally a significant demand driver for consumer goods, suppliers could benefit from the availability of alternative distribution systems to increase demand for their products by providing end-customers with lower net purchase prices, without sacrificing their own profit margins in the long run. Reduction of distribution and delivery cost is often the most important area of potential improvement for suppliers to reduce unit product delivery costs and, ultimately, the price for consumers. Some examples of problems currently facing suppliers and wholesalers include the need for both suppliers (to wholesalers) and wholesalers (to retailers) to mandate minimum purchase amounts and volumes, the need for suppliers to create and operate their own sub-wholesale distribution system due to geographical constraints, and slow response to changing customer demands. These problems will be exacerbated as product diversity and competition continues to increase.
Another problem facing suppliers is the lack of access to direct information about their end-customers. Retailers often have direct contact with end-customers, but they generally do not have the scale to influence demand and price based on this information. However, wholesalers potentially do have the scale to influence demand and price within their area or region. If wholesalers were provided with direct information from end-customers, wholesalers potentially could manipulate both suppliers and retailers for their own profit enlargement. Also, access to direct information from end-customers could provide suppliers with significant insights for product development and service improvement opportunities.
In addition, under current systems, the opportunity to obtain both one-stop shopping and the best purchase price is very difficult for end customers. However, current systems typically do provide the customer with the opportunity to see and touch their potential purchases and to do comparison shopping for the best price available.
Inventory control is also an important issue for suppliers, wholesalers and retailers. Under current systems, wholesalers and retailers typically are responsible for inventory control and must control inventories from multiple suppliers or wholesalers, respectively. The need to control inventory is constrained by current delivery methods employed by suppliers to wholesalers, and wholesalers to retailers. If a direct distribution system were used in the marketplace (suppliers directly to consumers), then the need for wholesaler and retailer inventory control (and the associated costs) could be eliminated or substantially reduced. The supplier could be exclusively responsible for inventory control and have direct and real time access to customer demand. The supplier could also manage inventory equally or more efficiently than wholesalers and retailers, since they would not have to manage multiple supply sources and products, or the delivery hand-offs included in the current system.
FIG. 2-A and FIG. 2-B show that by equipping a retail chain system, wholesalers can (a) increase their buying power to receive better deals from suppliers; and (b) offer a better price to consumers though a direct channel. However, since the purpose of this system typically is to maximize the profit of the big chain companies operating as wholesalers, and the number of locations for a big chain store will be limited, such systems may be limited in their ability to maximize customer satisfaction. Also, since this type of distribution system is inherently a low margin, high operating expense operation, the success of this type of system typically is very sensitive to market conditions. And this type of system generally will not be focused on improving customer convenience and satisfaction, since the customers are still isolated from suppliers and the chain companies will need to provide a high degree of focus on operational issues such as inventory control, delivery cost, and warehousing costs.
Other types of business models are utilized by service provider businesses. Service provider businesses typically require direct contact with customers and the delivery of personalized services to each customer. To meet these basic conditions for their business, service providers typically operate their business service centers in an area where their customers are easily accessible (FIG. 3), or through establishment of franchises (FIG. 5) or authorized local agents (FIG. 4) in multiple geographic areas. These types of businesses typically have high operating expenses and can also face limitations in their geographical coverage. Service businesses, such as dry cleaning, repair (i.e. computers, electronic devices, and cameras) and pharmacies also need to identify a convenient location for customer drop off and pick-up. These locations need to balance the convenience for customers with the operating cost or overhead for the location. Commonly encountered difficulties facing these types of business include:                Limited number of drop off and pick-up locations limit the potential customer coverage area.        Operating expenses are generally higher in “high traffic” areas that are easily accessible to customers.        Additional operating expenses are incurred for franchises and locally authorized agents, such as franchise fees, royalty payments, and agent commissions.        Inability to purchase supplies (i.e. parts, raw materials) in volume to obtain a lower unit cost.        Difficulty in obtaining and purchasing advanced or specialty equipment, or resources with specialized skills.        Difficulty in maintaining quality due to price sensitivity.        Difficulty for customers to compare services and pricing among different providers.        
Since this type of business model is often risky, the current marketplace has seen an increase in use of sub-contracted work for service type business or the utilization of a service department as part of a bigger business. These types of service provider businesses present their own problems, such as:                Price for services is higher since it reflects additional overhead (cost to sub-contract or expenses for larger business).        Difficulty to maintain the level of quality due to sub-contracting or management as part of a larger business.        
Customers continue to demand many kinds of service businesses in their local geographic areas, but the basic problems facing these types of business described above facilitate the trend towards franchises or running a service as part of a larger business.
FIG. 6-A and FIG. 6-B show how through the application of information technology to the traditional market system for consumer goods, an e-commerce based system attempts to improve customer convenience and distribution process efficiency. These improvements often enable the offering of a lower price and enhanced service to customers. However, the e-retailer's role, in effect, becomes a wholesaler or sub-wholesaler in this system. E-retailers typically do not offer delivery options other than direct delivery to the end customer. And because the e-retailer typically uses an expensive carrier for delivery, the cost benefits of this type of system to the end customer often are diluted and not fully realized. E-commerce systems could result in price decreases in some aspects by reducing the roles of retail stores in the traditional market system or big chain company system. However, because end customers often are geographically scattered, their delivery time and cost will be different. Also, with the increased handling of products, such a system can create problems with inventory control and sales estimation. For some products, some customers can be satisfied by this system's utilization. But the basic problem remains how to reduce delivery cost from e-retailers to the end customer. Also, these businesses are limited since they only leverage the Internet as a customer contact channel and only utilize payment methods that are secure for electronic commerce. A significant portion of potential customers either do not have credit cards, do not trust on-line payment systems, or would simply prefer to pay cash for goods or services. As a result, these customers generally do not do business with e-retailers.
In the service provider market, new e-commerce technology has increased the customer's convenience and satisfaction in many cases. However, as shown in FIG. 7-A, e-service providers generally are still acting as agents for service providers, wherein their prices will include commissions. Also, typical e-service providers handle only a limited number of products, and are not able to provide the customer with a way to compare their costs and service offerings with those of competitors. As shown in FIG. 7-B, for situations where the service provided is delivery of a tangible product, e.g. paper ticket delivery, these types of business are subject to the same limitations of e-commerce (use of internet, payment methods, etc.).
Thus, it can be seen that needs exist for improved methods and systems for utilizing information technology, and systems to maximize customer satisfaction, improve customer convenience and improve market productivity and efficiency. In particular, significant opportunities exist to improve the distribution system for consumer goods and services through implementation of a new and direct distribution system. It is to the provision of improved systems and methods for the distribution and delivery of goods and/or services meeting these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.